For the third consecutive year, the Fort Mill High girls’ lacrosse team will be heading back to Irmo High School to play for a state championship thanks in part to junior Cece Shia’s eight goal performance.
Shia set the school record for career goals in the match and now has 205 career goals in just three years.
“I set a goal for myself since freshman year to get there by senior year,” she said. “It was pretty awesome. Getting to go to the state championship is an amazing experience. We have learned from when we have been there. We want it so bad. Having that want will make the third time the charm.”
For the second consecutive day, a team from Riverside made their way into Bob Jones Stadium. This time it was a Riverside girls lacrosse team facing the host Jackets in the Upper State championship.
Fort Mill beat Riverside 18-10 to win their third consecutive Upper State title improving to 13-4 on the season. They will now travel to Irmo High School on Friday, May 8 to play in the 5A Division II state title match to face Lucy Beckham, 10-8 winners over Chapin in the Lower State championship.
“I think this is the best team we have had in a long time,” said Fort Mill head coach Kirsten Terry. “Every single player we have on the field is a threat. Every attacker is a threat.”
Riverside opened the match scoring less than a minute into play. Catherine Bois got the Jackets on the board a little later to tie things up. Then just 37 seconds later, Shia put Fort Mill ahead. The Jackets then won the next faceoff and resulted in Shia scoring again before a Riverside timeout.
After the timeout, the Warriors were able to control the ball more and scored.
When Fort Mill was able to get the ball back, it was Molly Bennett that extended the Jackets lead with a goal with about 2:30 left in the first quarter. Riverside would stay close with their third goal of the match with less than a minute left in the opening quarter.
Fort Mill wasted no time in opening the second quarter as Shia scored in the first 18 seconds. The Jackets continued to control possession as Mallory Hitch scored less than 90 seconds later.
The Warriors would score and continued to keep pressure on the Jackets. However, when Fort Mill needed a goal, they went to Shia as she collected a hat trick with a little more than five minutes left in the half. That goal would be her 200th career goal. She would add another one before the half and Bennett would get her second goal of the match as well as Fort Mill went to the locker room with a 9-4 lead.
Shia opened the third quarter like she did the second quarter with a goal 29 seconds after the face-off. She got her sixth goal of the match four minutes later to put Fort Mill up 11-4. Her sixth goal (No. 203 in her career) gave her the school record.
After a timeout, Bennett came out to collect a hat trick and further extend the Jackets lead.
After the goal by Bennett gave Fort Mill an eight-point lead, Riverside rattled off three consecutive goals. Hitch ended that run with two more goals to give her a hat trick before the end of the third quarter.
Riverside didn’t go quietly as they opened the fourth quarter with a goal. Bois got her second goal near the nine-minute mark for the Jackets.
Shia scored her seventh and Bennett for her fourth goal about midway through the fourth quarter. Shia would add another one with less than 75 seconds remaining for number eight in the match.
May 5 Roundup
The Catawba Ridge girls’ soccer team breezed through the opening round of the 5A Division II playoffs with a 9-0 win over Gaffney. Catawba Ridge is 18-4-1 overall on the season and will now face Nation Ford in round two on the road on Friday, May 8.
The Fort Mill baseball team ended their season in Greenville with a 5-2 loss to knock them out of the 5A Division II playoffs. Braden Richardson went 3-4 with an RBI in the loss to lead Fort Mill. The Jackets finished the season at 13-15 overall.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
